Alpiq Holding Ltd. has signed a co-development agreement with Kraftö Vind of Sweden to jointly plan and build four wind farms. Two will be located in southern Sweden, one in central Sweden and one in northern Sweden. The parties signed the co-development agreement on 30 November 2009. Alpiq and Kraftö will now jointly drive forward the licensing process with a view to enabling the first of these wind farms to be commissioned by as early as 2012.
Sweden supports the expansion of wind power The four wind farms with potentially 100 wind turbines could supply power to 100,000 Swedish households each year. Thanks to good wind conditions in Sweden, the Swedish government has set itself the goal of generating 30 TWh of wind power per year by 2020. "Besides Sweden's ideal wind conditions, the country has a stable political framework and local support, as well as good marketing opportunities," says Alpiq CEO Giovanni Leonardi. "This provides us with an excellent basis for future investments." With Kraftö bringing its strong wind power technology know-how to the partnership, Alpiq will undoubtedly be able to implement successful projects.
"The co-development agreement with Alpiq is in line with Kraftö's strategy of working with financially sound industrial partners in Sweden and abroad to further develop the company's 1800-MW portfolio. Alpiq has selected four different projects from Kraftö's portfolio which have good profitability criteria and are located in areas where local authorities welcome the expansion of wind power," says Christoffer Caesar, Deputy CEO of Kraftö Vind. A leading European utility willing to invest heavily in Swedish wind power generation is an important expression of support for the Swedish energy policy, added Caesar, and is a step towards a sustainable future.
Alpiq and Kraftö commit to new renewables Alpiq is committed to renewable energies throughout Europe. In addition to wind power projects in Sicily, Bulgaria and Scandinavia, the company is pursuing small hydroelectric power station projects in Switzerland, Italy, France and Scandinavia. Headquartered in Stockholm, Kraftö Vind currently has a workforce of 30. At present the wind farm developer is developing more than 50 projects throughout Sweden. Kraftö is among the strongest-growing wind power developers in Sweden. The company's business model provides for the involvement of landowners in the project, and enables Kraftö to focus on top sites with the highest probability of success and profitability. The company is owned by its founders and Wind Energy Resources Ltd. (WER) of Ireland.